


Returning Home

by samandbucky



Series: Buddie Drabbles & Oneshots [8]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Married Couple, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29049525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samandbucky/pseuds/samandbucky
Summary: Eddie has been away in the army a few years, leaving Buck at home to watch over their son, Christopher. Things are stressful for Buck, but he tries to put on a brave face for Christopher while they patiently wait for Eddie's return.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Series: Buddie Drabbles & Oneshots [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2107242
Comments: 8
Kudos: 370





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I got two prompts on tumblr and decided to combine them:  
>  _Buck works at 118, and Eddie has just returned from the army. Buck introduces the team to his husband and son for the first time_
> 
> and
> 
> _Buck is raising Chris and waiting for Eddie to return from the army_

“Hey bud, you ready to go?” Buck asks, smiling when he hears the sound of Christopher’s crutches tapping against the floor. He looks over at his son.

“I’m ready. Do we get to call daddy first?” Christopher asks hopefully.

Buck hesitates. “We can try, but he might not pick up. You know that,” he says, pulling his cell phone out, and video calls Eddie’s number, hoping that he’ll pick up this time. The last few times they’ve tried calling Eddie, he hasn’t answered, and Buck hates sending Christopher to school disappointed.

The past two years have been difficult for Buck and Christopher, with his husband being away in the army, all the way in Afghanistan. Buck’s always been proud of Eddie for his service, but sometimes he misses his husband and wishes he could come back home, but that won’t be for another year or two.

It hasn’t been so easy for Buck, raising a child all by himself. Of course he has their caretaker Carla, who’s been a tremendous help watching Christopher while Buck is out fire fighting, but Buck tries to watch Christopher when he can because he knows it’s not easy for Christopher to be away from his dad. Sometimes it’s stressful for Buck, but he tries to put on a brave face for their son.

Buck grins as soon as Eddie’s face appears on his phone. “Eddie! I’m so glad we got you this time,”

“Hey, sweetheart. I know. I’m so sorry. Things have been a little chaotic around here,” Eddie tells him.

“It’s okay. We understand,” Buck quickly reassures him. “Someone wanted to talk to you.” He bends down and hands the phone over to Christopher. “Not too long, okay bud? We gotta get you to school.”

“Daddy!” Christopher exclaims, completely ignoring what Buck had just said.

Eddie chuckles. “Hey Christopher. How’s my boy doing?”

Buck takes a step back to allow the two to chat to each other. Even though he and Christopher gratefully talk to Eddie on the phone a couple times a week, Buck desperately misses the quality time he used to be able to have with Eddie. He just wants Eddie to come home, but it’s not up to him.

“Will you come home soon, daddy?” Buck hears Christopher ask.

He hears Eddie sigh softly at the question. “Hopefully soon, bud. I miss you so much,”

“I miss you too,” Christopher says, pouting.

“Shoot. You need to be getting to school, huh? You be a good boy for your papa, alright Christopher?” Eddie says. “I love you. I’ll talk to you soon. Can you hand the phone back to papa?”

Christopher does as he’s told without arguing, handing the phone back to Buck.

“Thanks bud,” Buck says, before leaning against the kitchen counter as he looks at the phone again, taking in Eddie’s features. “How are things down there?”

“They’re… going,” Eddie replies. “I’ll never get used to this crazy.” Eddie looks at Buck. “How are you, babe? Are you sleeping well? Eating enough?”

Buck chuckles. “I’m fine,” he says, which is partly true. He is fine, just terribly missing his husband. “There’s so much I could tell you. I wish we had more time.”

“You can tell me everything as soon as I get home,” Eddie says.

“When will that be?” Buck asks snappily, before his eyes widen. “Shit. I’m sorry, Eddie. I didn’t mean-”

“It’s okay,” Eddie says softly. “You must be stressed. Look, I don’t know when I’m going to be home, but I’m trying my best. I want nothing more than to be home with you and Christopher.”

“I know,” Buck sighs, trying not to let himself get choked up. He’s got a long day ahead of him, and he doesn’t need his emotions getting in the way. “We really should get going now. Christopher will be late. We’ll try to call as soon as we can, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too,” Eddie says, blowing a kiss, before hanging up.

Buck sighs, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He looks over and frowns when he sees Christopher staring at him. “What’s the matter? Is everything okay?”

“Are you okay, papa?” Christopher asks, and Buck’s heart melts. Clearly he’s not doing a good enough job at hiding his emotions like he thought he was, because Christopher has noticed, and the last thing Buck wants is for Christopher to be worrying about him.

“Don’t worry, Christopher. I’m okay,” Buck says as he bends down to look at Christopher, ruffling his hair, trying to reassure him. “Just missing your daddy, that’s all. But, it’s all okay, ‘cos I’ve got you here, yeah?” He stands up again. “Let’s get you to school.”

Christopher whines, but starts heading towards the door with Buck. “Can’t I stay home?”

Buck chuckles. “Nice try kiddo. Your dad would kill me if I let you skip school,” he says. “Scratch that. Carla would kill me, and we don’t want to deal with an angry Carla, do we?”

“She’s scary when she’s angry,” Christopher replies, making Buck laugh.

Buck drops Christopher off at school. He gets back into the car once Christopher is safely in the school. He sits there for a moment in silence, staring blankly at nothing, before he finally breaks down sobbing, allowing tears to pour out of his eyes, the emotions he’s been hiding for weeks.

When Buck finally gets himself together, he drives himself to the fire station. He’s quiet as he enters, which is unlike him. Usually he’s loud and annoying, as the others have put it.

“Hey Buck,” Hen greets when Buck walks into the locker room. “You alright?”

“Fine,” Buck replies, grabbing his uniform. He looks over and blinks a few times when he sees the look Hen is giving him. “What? Come on. I’m fine, Hen.”

“You are so not fine,” Hen says. “Did something happen this morning?”

Buck sighs, running a hand over his face. “Just… had a rough start to my morning. I’m fine, Hen. Honestly. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’m always going to worry about you whether you like it or not, Buckaroo,” Hen says. She looks at Buck. “You’ve got bags under your eyes. Have you been sleeping well?”

“God, you sound like Eddie,” Buck groans.

“Ah, so that’s what this is about,” Hen says, leaning against the lockers. “Did you talk to him?”

“Hardly,” Buck scoffs, slamming his locker. “We hardly get to talk to him anymore, and when we do, fuck. I- I never get to talk to him for as long as I’d like. I mean, it’s nice to hear his voice either way, but-”

“You’re giving up your time to talk to him for Christopher, aren’t you?” Hen asks, frowning at Buck.

“Eddie’s his dad. His actual dad. He’s just a kid, Hen,” Buck says.

“I understand, but he’s also your husband, and you deserve to talk to him too,” Hen says. “I’m sure Christopher understands that you miss him too and need to talk to him just as much as he does.”

“Trust me, Christopher knows more than he lets on. He asked if I was okay this morning,” Buck says.

“Which you’re not okay,” Hen says. “Maybe you should talk to Bobby. Take today off for yourself.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Buck says. “I don’t need a day off. I need to work.”

“Buck, you don’t work well when you’re stressed, and clearly, you’re stressed,” Hen argues.

“I’m not stressed!” Buck shouts, before taking a deep breath. “I just miss my fucking husband.” He scoffs, and storms out of the locker room without saying another word.

“What was that about?” Chimney asks as he walks into the room.

Hen sighs. “We’ve gotta do something about Buck. I feel bad for the guy. His husband’s away, and he’s basically a single parent at this point,” she says, looking at Chimney with worry in her eyes.

“You think we should talk to Bobby about this?” Chimney asks.

“No. I don’t know. I just wish there was something we could do for him,” Hen says.

“Well, unless we can magically bring his husband back home from the army, there’s nothing we can do except be there for him. For now, let’s just keep an eye on him,” Chimney says.

“Oh, definitely,” Hen agrees, nodding. “If he’s stressed, he’s not going to work well on the job.”

Chimney nods. “I’ll say something to Bobby, just to warn him,”

~~

_Two Years Later_

“Guys, seriously. You didn’t have to do this,” Buck says, grinning as he looks around at his co-workers and friends. Today is his twenty-sixth birthday, and the 118 had decided to surprise him with a little birthday party at the firehouse where they invited the people he’s closest to.

Buck sees Christopher, Carla and Maddie sitting at one table together. Hen’s family at another. Athena and her family are also there, even Michael showed up to show support for Buck. Buck really needed this pick-me-up, after having a few rough nights at home.

“Of course we did, Buckaroo,” Chimney says.

“We know things have been a little rough for you at home lately, and we thought this would cheer you up,” Hen says, gently patting Buck on the back.

“Oh, it definitely cheered me up,” Buck says, smiling at Hen. “Nothing makes me happier than being surrounded by my loved ones.” _There’s just one person missing that Buck wishes could be here…_

“Daddy!”

Buck looks over and gasps as soon as he sees him, and he almost has to pinch himself because there’s no way this is real. Eddie never mentioned anything to him about coming home.

“Eddie?” Buck breathes, feeling tears fill up in his eyes instantly, because he hasn’t seen in his husband in over four years. Four long years. Buck immediately rushes over to Eddie and throws his arms around him tightly, nearly knocking Eddie off his feet. “Oh my God. You’re here.”

Eddie chuckles, feeling himself getting emotional. “I’m here, Buck,” he whispers, squeezing Buck tightly.

Buck lets out a sob. “I missed you so much,”

“It’s okay. I’m here. I’m here now,” Eddie whispers, burying his face in Buck’s neck.

“Daddy!”

Eddie reluctantly pulls away from Buck, and beams as soon as he sees Christopher heading towards him. “Christopher!” He hurries over and pulls Christopher into his arms, lifting him up.

Buck looks away and quickly wipes away his tears, but they only keep pouring out of his eyes.

“You’ve gotten so big,” Eddie whispers, hugging Christopher tightly.

“I missed you, daddy!” Christopher cries.

“I missed you too. So much,” Eddie says. “It’s okay. I’m home now. I’m not leaving you again.” He looks over at Buck and takes a deep breath when he sees the tears on Buck’s face. He holds out an arm, inviting Buck into the hug.

Buck immediately hurries over, and allows Eddie to pull him into the hug.

“I’m so happy to be home. Oh, and happy birthday, babe,” Eddie says after a moment, when the three have finally settled down. He leans forward and kisses Buck passionately.

Buck grins at Eddie, grabbing a hold of him. “This is best birthday present ever,”

“Diaz?”

Eddie looks over and sees Captain Nash walking up to him with Hen and Chimney. “Captain Nash?”

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Bobby says, shaking Eddie’s free hand.

“Yeah, you as well. Buck’s told me so much about you. All of you,” Eddie says, looking at all of them. “Thank you. For taking care of him while I was away.”

“Speaking of. Thank you for your service,” Bobby adds, nodding at Eddie.

“Buck’s a pain in the ass, for sure,” Hen says, earning an eye roll from Buck as Buck grips onto Eddie’s arm, not wanting to let go of him now that he’s home. “But, we love him.”

“Hen, language. There’s children present!” Chimney warns.

“Hey, we still have some cake to cut and presents to open,” Bobby reminds them. “Buck?”

“Hey, did you guys set this up?” Buck asks, raising his eyebrows at Bobby.

“We might have gotten word that Eddie was coming home while we were planning your surprise party,” Bobby admits, grinning at Buck. “We thought it would be the perfect surprise.”

Buck chuckles, and looks over at Eddie. “I cannot believe you kept this from me, from us,” he says, and he glances down at Christopher, who still hasn’t let go of Eddie. Buck reaches over and gently rubs Christopher’s back. He looks back at Eddie, who gives him a nod.

“I heard something about cake?” Eddie asks.

Buck huffs out a laugh, feeling his eyes watering up again.

Buck helps Bobby cut the cake, trying not to get distracted by Eddie. He doesn’t want to leave his side, especially after being away from him for four years.

“Eddie! It’s so great to see you again!” Maddie exclaims as she walks up to Eddie, hugging him.

“You too, Maddie,” Eddie chuckles. “Did I hear something about you expecting?”

Maddie instantly blushes. “The rumors might be true,” she says. “Chimney and I are expecting a baby. We’re so excited.” She glances over at Chimney before looking back at Eddie.

Eddie grins. “Buck can’t stop going on about being an uncle. Congratulations!”

“Alright. I’ve only got two hands and three plates of cake to carry. I know you don’t want to put him down-”

Eddie chuckles when he hears Buck’s voice.

“Hey, come sit with me at our table,” Maddie says, leading Eddie over towards the table she’s claimed. “Buck! Over here!” She shouts, gesturing for him to come over.

“Alright,” Eddie goes to place Christopher in one of the chairs, but Christopher refuses to let go of Eddie. “Hey, bud. It’s okay. I promise I’m not going anywhere. I’m home. For good. I promise.”

Christopher whines, before finally letting go of Eddie.

Buck walks over to the table and places three plates of cake and ice-cream down, passing one to Chris.

“How did you manage that?” Eddie asks, raising his eyebrows at Buck.

“Please, Eddie. I’m a firefighter. You learn to balance things,” Buck says, grinning at Eddie. “Sit down, and relax. I know you’ve been travelling all day.”

“Alright. 118! Listen up. I just got word from Chief about a fire-” Bobby begins, phone in hands. “And they’re asking for any extra help. I know it’s our day off and I’m not going to be upset if you decide not to-” Instantly, Chimney and Hen are rushing to get ready, even Athena. “Buck, you’re staying.”

“Bobby-”

Bobby gives him a warning glare. “You’re staying. Eddie just got home. Spend time with your family,”

Buck immediately looks over at Eddie, silently asking permission to go.

Eddie chuckles, and nods towards the firetruck. “Go,” he says. “We’ll be right here, waiting.”

“God, I love you,” Buck says, kissing Eddie once before rushing off. “I’ll be back. I promise!”

“Be safe, and don’t do anything stupid! Listen to your Captain, Buck!” Eddie shouts after Buck, earning a few chuckles. He looks over at Maddie. “Should I be worried?”

“This is Buck we’re talking about. You should _always_ be worried,” Maddie chuckles.


	2. version two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A slightly different version from my previous fic where instead Buck is all alone while Eddie is in Afghanistan and Christopher is staying with Eddie's abuela. Buck is stressed and not dealing well with being alone. But, he realizes he doesn't have to be alone.
> 
> Then, there's an accident, and Buck's whole world changes. But, maybe it won't be so bad.

Buck sighs as he walks up the stairs to the lounge room in the firehouse, heading over to the couch, not even noticing Hen in the kitchen.He flops down onto the couch, and pulls out his phone.

Buck immediately goes to his contacts and tries to call his husband, Eddie, who is currently in Afghanistan with the army. He’s been gone for two years already, and Buck misses Eddie desperately. They try to talk to each other every day, but it’s not the same. It makes things harder with Christopher, Eddie’s son, gone as well, staying with Eddie’s Abuela. She claimed it would be better for Christopher, with Buck having such a busy schedule being a firefighter.

Now, both of his boys are gone, and Buck’s never felt more alone. Of course, he has his sister Maddie, and the 118, but he’s never told the 118 about his husband and Christopher.

Buck sits as he waits for Eddie to answer. But the phone keeps ringing, but Buck already knows he’s not going to answer. “Fuck!” He shouts, slamming his phone down on the table, earning Hen’s attention.

Buck buries his face in his hands as he lets out a sob, allowing tears to pour out of his eyes.

“Buck?” Hen asks, rushing to the younger to comfort. “Hey, Buck. What’s going on?”

Buck startles, looking up at Hen with wide eyes. “Hen?”

“It’s okay. I’m not here to judge,” Hen says, sitting down beside Buck. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I- I can’t,” Buck mumbles, shaking his head.

“You _can’t_?” Hen asks, placing a hand on Buck’s back. “Buck, how long have we worked together now? You know you can talk to me about anything.”

Buck takes a deep breath. He knows he can trust Hen. She’s like a big sister to him. But, he’s never talked to anyone other than Maddie about Eddie and Christopher, but he needs to talk to someone. “Okay. But- But you can tell anyone about this. This is very personal to me.”

“You have my word,” Hen says. “Just talk to me. I can tell this is eating you up inside.”

Buck scoffs. “That’s an understatement,” he mumbles, before glancing over at Hen. “I have a husband. He’s- He’s away in the army right now. Afghanistan. I just… miss him so much, and- and our son, Christopher, he’s not with me either. Eddie’s abuela is taking care of him. She thinks it’s better for him because I’m a firefighter, and Christopher shouldn’t have to deal with it.”

“Seems reasonable,” Hen says. “Hold up. You have a _husband_? You didn’t tell us-?”

“Yeah, sorry. I- I know that I can trust you, Hen, and the others too, but I had kind of a rough childhood, so I don’t really go around announcing my sexuality to everyone I come across. I am… gay. My husband, he’s bisexual. Fuck, I just miss him so much.”

“What does he look like?” Hen asks curiously.

Buck picks up his phone and shows Hen his lockscreen, which happens to be a picture of him and Eddie, and then he shows her a picture of Eddie and Christopher. “They’re my entire world,”

“He’s adorable,” Hen says, when she sees a picture of Christopher. “He would get along well with Denny.”

“Yeah, if only I could bring him down here,” Buck mumbles.

“Have you talked to Eddie about this?” Hen asks, frowning. “I’m sorry. You deserve to see your son, Buck, especially with your husband being away for so long,”

“Yeah, but there’s not much we can do. I mean, she’s right. If I had Christopher here, I’d barely see him. With his abuela, Christopher is able to remain in one spot. He doesn’t have to move around so much, or be looked after by a stranger. I- I mean, I still visit him, whenever I have days off. It’s just… not the same,”

“How old is Christopher? Shouldn’t he have a say in who he wants to stay with?” Hen asks.

“He’s seven,” Buck tells her. “He also has CP. So, there’s that.”

“Well, that does make things a little more difficult,” Hen mumbles. She sighs, and gently rubs Buck’s back. “Sorry, Buck. You don’t deserve to go through this.”

Buck sighs quietly, and then he looks down at his phone, and his eyes widen when he sees that Eddie’s calling him. He looks over at Hen, who chuckles.

“Well, answer it,” she says, slowly standing up to give Buck some privacy.

Buck answers it immediately, and smiles as soon as he sees Eddie. “Eddie! Finally. Hey,”

“Hey, babe. Sorry I didn’t answer you before. I wasn’t by my phone. Things are busy right now, so I only have a few minutes to talk,” Eddie says, sounding upset, and Buck wishes he could hug Eddie. Eddie then sees Hen walking away in the background. “Oh. Are you with somebody right now?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s just Hen,” Buck says, looking back at Hen, before looking back at Eddie. “She’s one of the firefighters who work with me. I think I’ve mentioned her before.”

“So you’ve finally talked to someone then?” Eddie asks, smiling. “Hey, have you been crying?”

“Uh, I might have had a breakdown a few minutes ago. But, it’s fine,” Buck says. “I talked to Hen.”

Eddie sighs. “God. I’m so sorry, babe. I wish I could be with you,”

“Soon, right?” Buck asks, trying not to get his hopes up.

“I- I don’t know. I wish I could tell you when, but I don’t even know myself yet,” Eddie says.

“I know,” Buck mumbles. “I just miss you. A whole lot. That’s all.”

“I miss you too,” Eddie says. “Have you talked to Christopher lately?”

“Uh, I actually saw him the other week, we FaceTime almost daily,” Buck says. “Y- Yeah, he’s doing good, it seems like. I- I just wish I could see him more. It would make things so much easier for me.”

“I know, Buck. I’ll talk to my abuela the next time they call. Christopher should be with you,” Eddie says. “Abuela means well, but it can’t be easy for him to be away from both of his dads.”

“I agree,” Buck nods. “I’m sure there’s something we could figure out, to make things easier for him.”

“I’ll talk with her,” Eddie promises. “Are you doing okay? Uh, besides your mental breakdown?”

Buck chuckles. “Yeah. I guess so. The job keeps me busy,” he says. “There’s so much I could tell you, but I know we don’t have a lot of time though.”

“As soon as I get home, you have to tell me all the stories you have. I know you have some crazy ones,”

Buck grins. “Oh, I definitely have crazy stories, Eds,” he says. “You know, actually, just the other week… Some of us, including me, were drugged by someone who gave us brownies. They had good intentions, but it made our emergency call a little difficult.”

“Hold on a minute. You were _drugged_?” Eddie laughs, and Buck melts at the sound. “God, Buck. You get yourself stuck in the craziest situations. I swear. What am I gonna do with you?”

Buck laughs as well. “It’s not I ask for these things to happen!”

“Diaz!”

Eddie’s head pops up, and he sighs. “The boss is calling. I have to go. I’m so sorry, Buck,” he says.

“It’s okay. I understand,” Buck quickly reassures him. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Like always. Go be a hero.”

“You too,” Eddie smiles at Buck. “I love you. Be safe.” He blows a kiss to Buck, before hanging up.

Buck lets out a sigh. “I love you too,” he sets his phone down, and looks over when he feels someone place a hand on his shoulder, and sees Hen standing behind the couch.

“He seems lovely,” Hen says. “You’ll have to tell me about him when we have a day off.”

“Really?” Buck asks, perking up at that. “I- I mean, I would love to. Maddie’s the only one who knows, and- I don’t really have anyone else to talk about this stuff with.”

“I would love to hear about your husband, Buck,” Hen assures him.

“Husband?”

Buck looks over and his eyes widen when he sees Chimney and Bobby walking up the stairs.

“Ah, dammit,” Buck groans, falling over on the couch with defeat.

“Okay. What on Earth did we just walk into?” Bobby asks curiously. “What’s this about a husband?”

Hen snorts, unable to hold back her laughter. “Sorry, Buck,” she says, quickly walking away.

~~

After that, Buck is more open about his relationship with Eddie, and their son Christopher. He discovers that he loves talking with the others about his little family. He’s a lot happier, despite still missing Eddie.

The next few weeks go about the same as things always do.

All it takes is for just one incident to make everything fall apart for Buck.

The bomb was supposed to be for Bobby as revenge, but Bobby had just gotten suspended, so Buck to the blunt of it all because he happened to be sitting in the Captain’s seat of the firetruck. His leg had gotten crushed by the firetruck after the bomb exploded, unfortunately landing him right in the hospital.

When Buck’s eyes slowly open, he feels a weight against him. He groans.

“Papa!” Buck immediately knows who that voice belongs to.

“Christopher?” Buck asks, his voice hoarse as he speaks. His eyes fully open, and he smiles as soon as he sees his son, which is the last thing he expected to see. “Hey, bud. What are you doing here?”

“Abuela said you got hurt,” Christopher says. “We came to see you.”

“Aw. That was sweet of you,” Buck says. He looks over and instantly freezes as soon as he sees his leg is now in a cast. Buck knows the doctor said he was confident that Buck would be able to walk again, but Buck needs to know if he’ll be able to _work_ again.

“And daddy said you would be able to come home soon,” Christopher says.

Buck blinks a few times as he looks over at Christopher with confusion. “Daddy?”

“Are you trying to give me a heart attack, Evan Diaz?”

Buck’s head snaps up as soon as he hears the voice that he knows belongs to his husband. He looks up and sees Eddie standing in the doorway. Buck lets out a gasp. Eddie’s _here_. But, he shouldn’t be here. Eddie should be in Afghanistan.

“Honestly,” Eddie continues, walking further into the room.

“Eddie?” Buck chokes out, unable to stop the tears from forming in his eyes. _Eddie’s here_.

“It’s okay. I’m here,” Eddie says, leaning down and kissing Buck, before pulling him into a comforting hug, and Buck instantly melts into it, because it’s been so long since he’s been able to hug his husband. Eddie pulls away from the hug and looks down at Buck, gently cupping Buck’s cheek with his hand.

“Wh- What are you-? How are you here?” Buck asks, unable to take his eyes away from Eddie.

“Well,” Eddie sighs softly. “I was notified that my husband had been in a serious accident. I was given a couple of options on what to do because of how serious it was. One of the options was to be sent home, and that was the only option for me. I had to come home to be with you.”

“Eddie, no,” Buck says, shaking his head. “You’ve worked so hard…”

“Yes, that’s true, and maybe one day I’ll be able to continue what I started. But, right now, I needed to be home with you, and Christopher-” Eddie looks over at his son and smiles, before looking back at Buck.

“You’re home? For good?” Buck asks, tears threatening to pour out of his eyes.

“For now,” Eddie nods. “I don’t have any plans to go back, especially while you’re injured. I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. Not for awhile.”

“Fuck,” Buck says, pulling Eddie into his arms again, allowing the tears to escape from his eyes.

“Papa said a bad word,” Christopher says, earning a laugh from both Buck and Eddie.

When Buck finally calms down, Eddie settles into a chair beside him.

“Have you- Have you talked to a doctor?” Buck asks. “When will I be able to work again?”

“Buck,” Eddie frowns. “You’ve been involved in a fu- in a _bomb_ explosion.” He rolls his eyes when Buck stares at him. “Okay. I’m not going to promise that everything’s going to be fine, because I don’t know that it will be. But, right now, all I know is that you’re safe. You’re _alive_. Let’s focus on that first, okay?”

Buck hardly has any alone time with Eddie and Christopher before the members of his team are crowding into his room, obviously worried and wanting to make sure Buck is okay.

“It’s like you’re purposefully trying to give us all damn heart attacks,” Hen says, shaking her head at Buck.

“How was I supposed to know there was a bomb in the truck?” Buck defends himself. “You people think that I ask to be put in these situations or something?” He huffs, crossing his arms against his chest.

“Christopher suggested that we wrap him up in bubble wrap and never let him leave the house again,” Eddie says, grinning when Buck rolls his eyes.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Hen nods. She looks over, and her eyes widen when she sees Eddie. “Oh, goodness! You must be Eddie. I had no idea you’d be here. It’s so nice to finally meet you.” She immediately pulls him into a warm hug. “I’ve heard so many great things about you and your son.”

Eddie chuckles as he pulls away from the hug. “Likewise,”

“Eddie, nice to meet you. I’m Captain Nash,” Bobby says as he walks up to Eddie, shaking his hand. “But, call me Bobby. Oh, and thank you for your service.”

Buck smiles as he watches the team introduce themselves to Eddie, relieved they finally get to meet his family, and see how wonderful they are. “Oh!” Buck begins. “This here is our son Christopher.”

“Christopher!” Hen exclaims. She smiles and playfully shakes his hand, earning a giggle from Christopher. “I have been wanting to meet you, after everything Buck has told us about you.”

“Wish you could have met him sooner,” Buck says, smiling fondly at Christopher.

“Better late than never, right?” Eddie says, gently placing his hand on Buck's leg and rubbing it comfortingly. “We should probably go and tell a doctor that you’re awake.”

“We can do that. You stay here,” Hen says, looking over at Bobby and Chimney.

“Absolutely,” Bobby says, nodding, and leads the way out of Buck’s room.

“I like her,” Christopher says once they’ve left, which earns a smile from Buck.

“You do?” Buck asks, and Christopher nods. “Hey, you know what? Hen has a son too, and he’s just around your age. What do you think about a play date with him one day? Does that sound fun?”

Christopher nods eagerly. “Yeah! Can we dad?” He looks over at Eddie.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Eddie says, looking up at Christopher. He reaches up and playfully ruffles Christopher’s hair. “God, I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Christopher says, leaning forward to hug Eddie, and Buck’s heart melts as he watches the two of them.

Eddie’s home, and even though Buck won’t be able to work for a while, at least he has his husband and his son back to help him get through his recovery, and Buck knows it’s going to be a _long_ recovery.


End file.
